MORE than 60 members of Barnsley Youth Choir represented Great Britain at a prestigious competition in Spain recently - and they came out on top.

The highly-acclaimed choir, led by Mat Wright, travelled to compete in the 2025 edition of Canta Al Mar Festival Coral Internacional.

It saw choirs from all over the world come together to compete - and Mat’s choir won first place and gold diplomas in both the youth choir and pop categories.

Special prizes were also handed to Gorgey Bennett, Tom Masters and Darcy Preston for ‘outstanding solos’.

Mat said: “We are incredibly proud of these superb achievements.

“The standard and quality of singing in the competition was very high and for Barnsley youngsters to compete on the same footing as these exceptional choirs with such a strong international pedigree is testament to the hard work of everyone involved across the organisation, and to the children and young people themselves.

“They worked so hard to prepare and performed at an exceptional level, moving audiences to tears throughout the week.

“We would like to thank everyone who supported our young people and enabled them to be involved.

“It was such a special week, only made possible because of the support of the community and an experience that everyone who was involved will never forget.”